Gilbert Arenas is a stud. Actually the whole squad is pretty good. I love how Karon Butler has become such a good player. Jamison is steady old reliable. Arenas is the key. His health and Butlers will determine there success.

As a Cavs fan, the Wizards really should not have an issue beating Cleveland, the team has no offense outside of LeBron, pressure the point guards and it's very easy to turn the Cavs into a jump-shooting team. The problem for the Wizards is LeBron though, he's capable of dominating a series against bad defensive teams and Washington doesn't play much D. DeShawn Stevenson needs to learn to keep his mouth shut, a motivated LBJ is the last thing the Wizards need. Still, if the Wizards adhere to a philosophy of bringing a fast double team against James and do a decent job of eliminating second-chance opportunities for the Cavs, they can win the series in six games. Mike Brown might be the worst head coach in the league.

Fios wrote:A The problem for the Wizards is LeBron though, he's capable of dominating a series against bad defensive teams

As a Pistons fan I can say he's capable of dominating a series against a GOOD defensive team. Even a GREAT defensive team. The problem is doing it for four series in a row. But as a fan of the great Piston D teams that played Michael and LeBron I can tell you LeBron is even more unstoppable then Michael when he decides to score because of this size.

Cleveland really hasn't done well though, do you think the big trade hurt them or they just haven't assimilated all the new guys yet?

Groucho: Man does not control his own fate. The women in his life do that for him

Proverb: Failure is not falling down. Failure is not getting up again

Twain: A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way

Fios wrote:A The problem for the Wizards is LeBron though, he's capable of dominating a series against bad defensive teams

As a Pistons fan I can say he's capable of dominating a series against a GOOD defensive team. Even a GREAT defensive team. The problem is doing it for four series in a row. But as a fan of the great Piston D teams that played Michael and LeBron I can tell you LeBron is even more unstoppable then Michael when he decides to score because of this size.

Cleveland really hasn't done well though, do you think the big trade hurt them or they just haven't assimilated all the new guys yet?

1) The Pistons got caught looking past Cleveland last year, they assumed it would be a short series (and, to be fair, so did I) and allowed the Cavs to gain some confidence. LeBron's performance in game 5 was one of the most amazing individual efforts I have ever seen but if the Pistons hadn't allowed their egos to get in the way, they would have won that series. the Cavs were also a much better defensive squad than people realized.

2) Jordan is still the better scorer, LeBron falls too much in love with the highlight reel shot still, when he gets a coach that employs an offense and gets some legit help on offense, then you'll see what he's truly capable of. Right now he doesn't have a post game in any traditional sense, he just uses his size and strength and his shot still needs work. I already think he's the best at-the-rim finisher the league has ever seen but Jordan's complete game trumps James, especially on D.

3) I liked the trade when it happened and I still like the trade if that, for no other reason, the Cavs roster is better than it was pre-trade. It didn't/won't hamper them financially and it added depth. The problem is Mike Brown, he's been coasting for a couple of years now on LeBron's talent. The Cavs, literally, have no offensive sets to rely on.
Part of this is their lack of a true point guard but more (most) of it is Brown's failure to implement anything. The points they score aren't the result of designed, purposeful movement, they result from how defenses adjust to LeBron. So, in that sense, it doesn't much matter who you stick on the court with him, LeBron can get your team 45-50 points on his own in scoring and assists. The Cavs are a big team so they also rack up points on put-backs and offensive rebounds and they get a handful of transition buckets. But they don't have half-court sets they can rely on and that flaw has been exposed repeatedly this season.
To Brown's credit, it is tough when guys like Wally and Delonte and Sasha miss open shots. But those shots are very rarely result from design, the Cavs take more shots with the shot clock under 5 seconds than any team I've watched this season (I have NBA League Pass).
Brown's player rotations are terrible, he is incapable of making in-game and half-time adjustments (the Cavs are an atrocious third quarter team), he badly manages his time-outs and he doesn't know how to use a bench. Solid defensive coach, terrible at everything else. So, until Danny Ferry grows a set of balls and admits Brown was a bad hire (and his extension earlier this season was really dumb) the Cavs will flounder and LeBron will leave.

Fios wrote:1) The Pistons got caught looking past Cleveland last year, they assumed it would be a short series (and, to be fair, so did I) and allowed the Cavs to gain some confidence. LeBron's performance in game 5 was one of the most amazing individual efforts I have ever seen but if the Pistons hadn't allowed their egos to get in the way, they would have won that series. the Cavs were also a much better defensive squad than people realized.

2) Jordan is still the better scorer, LeBron falls too much in love with the highlight reel shot still, when he gets a coach that employs an offense and gets some legit help on offense, then you'll see what he's truly capable of. Right now he doesn't have a post game in any traditional sense, he just uses his size and strength and his shot still needs work. I already think he's the best at-the-rim finisher the league has ever seen but Jordan's complete game trumps James, especially on D.

3) I liked the trade when it happened and I still like the trade if that, for no other reason, the Cavs roster is better than it was pre-trade. It didn't/won't hamper them financially and it added depth. The problem is Mike Brown, he's been coasting for a couple of years now on LeBron's talent. The Cavs, literally, have no offensive sets to rely on. Part of this is their lack of a true point guard but more (most) of it is Brown's failure to implement anything. The points they score aren't the result of designed, purposeful movement, they result from how defenses adjust to LeBron. So, in that sense, it doesn't much matter who you stick on the court with him, LeBron can get your team 45-50 points on his own in scoring and assists. The Cavs are a big team so they also rack up points on put-backs and offensive rebounds and they get a handful of transition buckets. But they don't have half-court sets they can rely on and that flaw has been exposed repeatedly this season.To Brown's credit, it is tough when guys like Wally and Delonte and Sasha miss open shots. But those shots are very rarely result from design, the Cavs take more shots with the shot clock under 5 seconds than any team I've watched this season (I have NBA League Pass).Brown's player rotations are terrible, he is incapable of making in-game and half-time adjustments (the Cavs are an atrocious third quarter team), he badly manages his time-outs and he doesn't know how to use a bench. Solid defensive coach, terrible at everything else. So, until Danny Ferry grows a set of balls and admits Brown was a bad hire (and his extension earlier this season was really dumb) the Cavs will flounder and LeBron will leave.

I don't know if we were looking "past" Cleveland so much as our O was just horrible. A regular problem we've been having in the playoffs since our championship year. We finally are getting deeper on the bench with some scorers, I'm hoping that'll be the difference this year. Frankly Boston doesn't scare me if we play our game, and we have no chance at all if we don't. I like it that way. If we'd shot better we'd have not had so much trouble with the Cavs.

I can definitely agree that MJ was a better overall talent and probably could light up the scoreboard through an entire game and series more then LeBron. But in terms of having the ball and scoring cleanly, as opposed to Shaq who's allowed to pummel anyone he wants underfoot or out of the way, LeBron is it. The key with the Cavs is to have a comfortable lead that LeBron can't overcome by himself. Which should be more doable then the Pistons have done in the playoffs recent years.

Groucho: Man does not control his own fate. The women in his life do that for him

Proverb: Failure is not falling down. Failure is not getting up again

Twain: A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way

The Wizards had every opportunity to win game one. They simply couldn't hit a shot in the final three minutes of the game. Jamison made some poor decisions with shot selection in the final minutes. He had a great stat line for the game but when you're team is ahead in the final minutes you have to take the ball to the rim. Lining up for three pointers with nobody to rebound the misses is bad basketball. And since Jamison is the team's leading rebounder, he obviously can't rebound his own missed three point attempts.

On another note, LeBron James can go for 50 every game. If the Wizards would simply shut down the rest of the Cavaliers team, LeBron's scoring won't be enough. There is no reason why one 30 point per game scorer should be enough to win over three twenty point per game scorers.

I think the Cavs will win tonight and I could very easily ... VERY easily ... see them dropping the next two in Washington. I love 'em but they are an awful road team. I still think this series goes seven games but the Wizards have go to learn to SHUT UP. That's just stupid, regular LeBron is already tough, motivated LeBron is as close to unstoppable as we have in today's NBA. I'd be buying some muzzles if I were Eddie Jordan.